Author : Jasen Taylor

The large, solid steel table in the center of the sterile conference chamber was three inches thick but still did not weigh as much as the spirits of the twelve individuals seated around it. They had put this meeting off for as long as they could, but it now appeared there was only one course of action left open to them.

A course of action that the tallest of them, seated at the head of the table, still took umbrage with.

“I’m still not convinced that we have exhausted every treatment option available to us.”

“Well, what would it take to convince you?”, asked a voice three seats down. “Our last and best treatment for this patient has failed. We simply don’t have any way of curing the damage that has been done.”

“But cell migration…”

“Has failed. Repeatedly, I might add.” This brought a chorus of agreement from the others around the table. “Many times we have tried to isolate the damaged cells so the healthy population can grow and flourish,but the corruption has spread to the point where the patient’s system is damaged both from within and without.”

A loud voice at the other end of the table added, “There are many pockets of cells which are continually fighting for dominance over the other cells. At first, this was a slow process. The cells could only affect those closest to them and we thought we could reverse the process by introducing several reagents to halt the flow of corruption, but now these cells have gained in strength and are spreading their infection at an exponentially increasing rate and now have the capability of attacking the body as a whole. They can strike anywhere, anytime.

The tallest of them, realizing he was fighting a losing battle, said, “But there is still a potential for change. The patient’s cellular landscape is in a constant state of flux. Is this not the reason we have waited so long to determine the patient’s outcome?”

“But your argument is now the dominant reason shaping our decision. This state of flux is a cellular juggernaut, spiraling out of control. There is no way now to reverse the process. Several times it seemed a breakthrough had been made. A rogue cell or group of cells would break off and begin to promote harmony among the cellular ranks, but would always be eradicated or indoctrinated back into the cellular decay from which it sprang. Now the decay has reached the bloodstream, poisoning the system from deep within and promoting the feverish warmth which now plagues the entire body. There can be no going back now. All hope is lost. The plug must be pulled.”

“Agreed.”

“Seconded.”

And so the chant was taken up around the table, every one seated agreeing in turn, until finally it was time for the tall one to weigh in.

“It just seems a shame to erase all that potential for excellence. I had such high hopes for this one.”

“Your regrets are echoed in all our hearts. However, it must be done in order to protect the surrounding patients from the cellular degeneration of their neighbor.”

The tall one sighed.

“I recommend we discontinue the use of colonization as a viable treatment option in the future.”

As the others got up to leave, the tall one opened up the folder in front of him, labeled INTER-GALACTIC PLANETARY DE-CONTAMINATION SQUAD. He signed off on the action that would silence six billion cells.

Time of Death – 2008

Patient’s Name – Earth

 

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Publication Date: 2008 Nov 28 PMID: 19040743br/Authors: Kechris, K. - Li, H.br/Journal: BMC Bioinformaticsbr/br/ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Computational methods for characterizing novel transcription factor binding sites search for sequence patterns or motifs that appear repeatedly in genomic regions of interest. Correlation-based motif finding strategies are used to identify motifs that correlate with expression data and do not rely on promoter sequences from a pre-determined set of genes. RESULTS: In this work, we describe a method for predicting motifs that combines the correlation-based strategy with phylogenetic footprinting, where motifs are identified by evaluating orthologous sequence regions from multiple species. Our method, c-REDUCE, can account for variability at a motif position inferred from evolutionary information. c-REDUCE has been tested on ChIP-chip data for yeast transcription factors and on gene expression data in Drosophila. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that utilizing sequence conservation information in addition to correlation-based methods improves the identification of known motifs.br/br/post to: a href = http://www.citeulike.org/posturl?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Fcmd%3DRetrieve%26db%3DPubMed%26dopt%3DAbstract%26list_uids%3D19040743title=Entrez+PubmedCiteULike/a

During the December 1 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, commentator and author Christopher Hitchens -- a frequent critic of the Clintons -- again claimed that in 2000, Hillary Clinton "got" her husband "to change his plan to visit India and to build in a visit to Pakistan on the way in return for" thousands of dollars she received from a fundraiser held by a Pakistani-American PAC. Hitchens cited no source for his assertion, and reporting at the time said there was "no evidence" to support such a claim. Hitchens made similar claims on the March 29, 2000, edition of the show, as well as in the 2000 edition of his book No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family and in a May 1, 2000, column in The Nation. Hitchens made these accusations despite offering no support and despite reporting undermining his claim.

During the December 1 edition of Hardball, after making the accusation, Hitchens added: "Everyone in Pakistan knows she's open for business. This is not a left-right question. It's a matter of integrity." In response, Salon.com senior editor-in-chief Joan Walsh said to Hitchens: "I believe you cherry-picked the worst possible interpretation, as well as facts that aren't necessarily facts, and come up with this analysis."

In a May 1, 2000, column in The Nation titled "The Two Faces of Hillary" (available by subscription), which he quoted at length in the 2000 edition of No One Left to Lie To, Hitchens provided no evidence for the accusation that Hillary Clinton "got" Bill Clinton to go to Pakistan. Hitchens wrote:

General [Pervez] Musharraf's regime has now hired, at a retainer of $22,500 per month, the DC law firm of Patton Boggs, for which Lanny Davis, one of the First Family's chief apologists, toils. Perhaps for reasons having to do with the separation of powers, Patton Boggs also collects $10,000 monthly from Pak-Pac, the Pakistani lobby in America, for Davis's services in its behalf. Suddenly no more Dem jokes about ignorance of Pakistan.

Last December, after Clinton announced that Pakistan would not be on his itinerary when he visited the subcontinent, his former White House "special counsel" arranged a fundraiser in Washington at which lawyers from Patton Boggs made contributions to the First Lady's Senate campaign that now total $25,500. So, not very indirectly, Pakistani military money was washed into her coffers from the very start. Then, in February, another Pak-Pac event, in New York, was brought forward so as to occur before the arrangements for the President's passage to India had been finalized. Having been told that the First Lady did not grace any event for less than $50,000 upfront, the Pakistanis came up with the dough and were handsomely rewarded for their trouble by the presence of Lanny Davis and by a statement from Mrs. Clinton that she hoped her spouse would stop off in Pakistan after all. And a few days later, he announced that, after much cogitation, he would favor General Musharraf with a drop-by.

How does this look to you? One way of deciding it is to try the cover stories for size. "I wish I could say I had the influence and had applied the right pressure for the President to visit Pakistan, but I didn't, so I can't." That's Lanny Davis. Is this what he tells the Pakistanis in return for his large stipend? "If anybody thinks they can influence the President by making a contribution to me, they are dead wrong." That's Hillary Clinton. Is that what she said at the Pak-Pac fundraiser?

One thing that strikes the eye immediately is how cheap this is. And inexpensive, too. The Pakistani nuclear junta must be rubbing its eyes: For such a relatively small outlay of effort it can get the First Family to perform public political somersaults. [emphasis in original]

During his March 29, 2000, appearance on Hardball, Hitchens accused Bill Clinton of "selling U.S. policy on Pakistan to help his wife" and claimed it was a "scandal." Host Chris Matthews responded by asserting that Hillary "grabbed a ton of money from Pakistani-Americans, a huge ethnic group with lots of money and she grabbed all their money and then she said she was not going to encourage her husband to go to Pakistan but all of a sudden he went to Pakistan." Hitchens responded: "No, she said at the dinner I hope he goes to Pakistan."

Contrary to Hitchens' overt accusation on December 1 that Hillary Clinton "got" Bill Clinton to go to Pakistan and his suggested accusations to that effect earlier, The New York Times reported in a March 14, 2000, article that "no evidence has emerged that Hillary Rodham Clinton, who told people at the dinner that she hoped her husband would visit Pakistan, had influenced his decision last week to do so." The Times went on to quote White House spokesperson Mike Hammer as saying, "The first lady's views were not part of the decision-making process." Additionally, the Times noted that "Mr. Clinton has previously indicated his own desire to go to Pakistan."

Additionally, contradicting Hitchens' claim that Davis "organized" the February 2000 New York fundraiser, the Times reported that Davis said "he played no role in arranging the fund-raiser."

As Media Matters for America has documented, in the context of reports that Obama intended to nominate Clinton, Hitchens repeatedly attacked Clinton's foreign policy credentials during appearances on MSNBC:

• On the November 18 edition of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Hitchens suggested that Clinton was not "respected in the Pentagon," despite ample evidence that Clinton "has gained a lot of respect among military leadership" and has "built relationships" with military leaders such as Gen. David H. Petraeus and Adm. William J. Fallon.
• During the November 17 edition of Hardball, as well as the November 18 edition of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Hitchens revived his accusation, which he has yet to source, that Hillary Clinton blocked any action by the Clinton administration in war-torn Bosnia in 1993 because she didn't want it to interfere with passage of her health-care plan.

From the December 1 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

MATTHEWS: OK, Joan, let me try to ask you to climb through that rubble. That's very complicated. What do you think --

HITCHENS: Rubble?

MATTHEWS: -- of this appointment? It's complicated, Christopher, because you make the point that this administration's policy hasn't been to the right of what Barack Obama is promising for his administration, which most people would disagree with your view and accept mine -- that it is to the left of what we've had for eight years now.

HITCHENS: Listen, is it left or right for Hillary Clinton to get her husband, after a huge Pakistani fundraiser -- I'm speaking about something very important to us right now. A few years ago, a huge Pakistani fundraiser, in New York, organized for her by Lanny Davis, she got Clinton to change his plan to visit India and to build in a visit to Pakistan on the way in return for a huge campaign donation. Everyone in Pakistan knows she's open for business. This is not a left-right question. It's a matter of integrity.

WALSH: I think this is ridiculous. I think --

HITCHENS: Do we want such a person as secretary of state?

WALSH: Christopher, your views on the Clintons --

MATTHEWS: Joan, your turn.

WALSH: Christopher, your views on the Clintons' integrity are well-known. I consider them eccentric. I believe that you cherry-picked --

HITCHENS: Getting --

WALSH: I'm not -- I'm not going to say that they are perfect, but I believe you cherry-picked the worst possible interpretation, as well as facts that aren't necessarily facts, and come up with this analysis.

HITCHENS: Name one. Name one.

WALSH: I think this is a terrific --

HITCHENS: Name one.

WALSH: I think this is a terrific -- I'm stepping -- I'm going to step around the rubble today, Christopher.

HITCHENS: One, one.

From the March 29, 2000, edition of Hardball (retrieved from the Nexis news database):

MATTHEWS: Well, tell me about India and Pakistan and what your thoughts are.

HITCHENS: What about selling U.S. policy on Pakistan to help his wife? It's a scandal. I can't believe [Rudy] Giuliani is being so quiet about it. If he saw --

MATTHEWS: So she went on television -- I know she grabbed a ton of money from Pakistani-Americans, a huge ethnic group with lots of money and she grabbed all their money and then she said she was not going to encourage her husband to go to Pakistan but all of a sudden he went to Pakistan.

HITCHENS: No, she said at the dinner I hope he goes to Pakistan.

MATTHEWS: I hope he goes. But the fact is that it was never an issue.

HITCHENS: Of course, she's lied a lot about it, as she lies about everything. But you notice that Lanny Davis, her former hack and flack, has been hired by the Pakistani military dictatorship. We were all laughing at Bush for being too nice about that general and forgetting his name, remember?

MATTHEWS: Right.

HITCHENS: Now, Lanny Davis, the hack and flack for the Clintons, is hired for 22 grand a month to represent this dictatorship in Washington and New York. We find he arranged another big dinner in D.C. for fundraising and for pressure on the Clintons. It's extraordinary.

MATTHEWS: You mean that guy that was on this show all the time defending Clinton --

HITCHENS: The whole compromise with dictatorship and with a nuclear power to try and help his wretched wife and her wretched campaign in New York.

MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you --

HITCHENS: Where is the outrage, Christopher?

MATTHEWS: Well, it seems to be present in San Francisco where you are tonight. Let me ask you about this Lanny Davis role. I'm fascinated. Twenty-two thousand dollars a month to represent the dictatorship that overthrew the democratic government in Pakistan and he isn't part of the fundraising campaign, apparently. What's the connection between Hillary -- the fundraising in New York to get her elected to the Senate and the efforts by the Pakistani government to pay for goodwill here in Washington through the good offices of Lanny Davis?

HITCHENS: Yeah, well Mr. Davis says, when he's asked about the dinner he put on in Washington, well, I don't have this kind of influence to change Mr. President Clinton's itinerary. Well, I wonder if that's what he tells the Pakistanis when they hand him the check. Don't give this to me under the impression I can do anything, guys.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about --

HITCHENS: It's enough to make a cat laugh, isn't it? But I mean it wouldn't be the first time they'd sold off a bit of foreign policy for some domestic moolah.

During the December 2 edition of NBC's Today, when asked about the effect of President Bush's approval ratings on Barack Obama's election as president, Fox News contributor Karl Rove claimed that the "call for change gave Barack Obama the presidency of the United States with 2.1 percent more than Al Gore got." In fact, in 2000, Gore received 48.38 percent of the popular vote, and according to unofficial election results posted on National Public Radio's website, Obama has received 52.7 percent of the popular vote, which is a difference of 4.32 percentage points.

Rove has previously made similar claims to downplay the extent of Obama's victory. During the November 5 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, when asked how responsible Bush was for Obama's victory, Rove responded, "[L]et me put this in a little bit of a frame for you. ... [Obama] got two and a half points better than Al Gore did." Rove added: "So, if this was all about George W. Bush, and -- and you looked at George W. Bush's standing in the polls, and this was all a reaction to him, you'd expect this thing to be a blowout." Rove similarly claimed in his November 6 Wall Street Journal column that Obama did "2.5 points better than Al Gore did in 2000. These small changes on the margin meant all the difference between winning and losing."

From the December 2 edition of NBC's Today:

MATT LAUER (co-host): President Bush said in an interview recently that he is sure some of the votes for Barack Obama recently were a repudiation of Republicans, and he said, "I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me." He's leaving office with -- with dismal approval ratings. What went wrong? This was, this -- you were the architect in many ways --

ROVE: Yeah --

LAUER: -- of this administration. What went wrong?

ROVE: Well, first of all, let's take what went right. What went right is that we were struck on Novemb -- on September 11, and for seven years he has kept our country safe. He has liberated 25 million people in Afghanistan, and 25 million people in Iraq --

LAUER: So you'd think they'd carry him out on their -- on their shoulders.

ROVE: No, well, look -- look, that's not -- that's not the way the system works. At the end of eight years, Republicans or Democrats have had -- when they've had the White House, people tire of it. And he's asked the country to do a lot of tough things. And he's asked -- he's asked -- we've gone through big and bold changes, and the country doesn't like that. And we have some economic difficulties. I would remind you of economic difficulties.

LAUER: But the call for change became -- came long before the meltdown.

ROVE: Well, and I would rememb-- remind you this: The call for change gave Barack Obama the presidency of the United States with 2.1 percent more than Al Gore got in 19 -- in 2000.

From Rove's November 6 Wall Street Journal column:

But we do know President-elect Obama ran better among frequent churchgoers (perhaps getting 10 points more than John Kerry did), independents (perhaps five points more than Kerry and eight points more than Al Gore), Hispanics and white men. He even made special appeals to gun owners and sent his wife to cultivate military families. This allowed him to carry previously red states like Florida, New Mexico and Iowa.

This combination helped Senator Obama run four points better nationally than John Kerry did in 2004 and 2.5 points better than Al Gore did in 2000. These small changes on the margin meant all the difference between winning and losing.

From the November 5 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

ALAN COLMES (co-host): How responsible is George W. Bush and what his administration has left us for what happened?

ROVE: Well, look, if you want to look at it that way, let -- and let me put this in a little bit of a frame for you.

Barack Obama got 1.5 percent more of the vote than did George W. Bush. He got four points better than John Kerry. He got two and a half points better than Al Gore did.

So, if this was all about George W. Bush, and -- and you looked at George W. Bush's standing in the polls, and this was all a reaction to him, you'd expect this thing to be a blowout, not something that was essentially a mild improvement over what John Kerry got. I mean look at that. That's four points better.

COLMES: [inaudible] But you add in the House, the Senate, and the number of gains for Democrats there -- does that not also speak to --

ROVE: Well, look, the Republicans have a challenge, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I'm having an issue where the phone will not let me slide to answer or unlock. I'll hit the home button and the screen will come up with the slider, but if I swipe it won't move. I'll try repeatedly and nothing. I usually have to hit the lock button and then the home button and try again. It usually works like normal on the second attempt.

I was having a problem under 2.1 and sent in feedback. I was hoping 2.2 would fix it, but I'm still having the same problem.

Has anybody have a similar problem? Solutions? I've tried a reboot as well and that did not seem to work.

The 5-year-old kindergarten student in Hyannis, Mass., told her parents that in 2000 a third-grade boy repeatedly made her lift her dress, pull down her underwear and spread her legs.

As of today, James "Ender" Brown has left the lead team of ScummVM.

Ender joined the ScummVM team back in February 2002 and became project co-lead already one month later. The original founders of ScummVM, yazoo and strigeus, were still active, but soon after left ScummVM for other ventures. Ender remained as the sole project leader until March 2003, when Max "Fingolfin" Horn joined him at the steering wheel. The long time leading triumvirate of ScummVM was completed in April 2006 with the addition of Eugene "sev" Sandulenko. Together, we went through many good and bad times.

Ender worked especially hard on the PR side of things, including tons of posts in the news section of this site (we really should post news updates more frequently again!), and many behind-the-scenes negotiations with companies regarding source code releases and other things. Not to mention repeatedly crossing swords with the legal department of LucasArts.

Recently, due to personal issues, Ender has had less and less time to work on ScummVM and related things. Not wanting to harm the project by being unable to devote enough time to take care of important tasks, Ender has graciously agreed to resign his post.

The remaining project leaders, Fingolfin and Sev, would like to thank Ender for his many years of faithful leadership, and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

http://www.scummvm.org/?shownews=20081201.xml

Modern newsrooms have to engage in a never-ending conversation with their community. This may sound self-evident, but it can be a tough sell in a newsroom working under high pressure. So how do you get reporters to buy into the proposition that they need to listen to their audience? They need to see for themselves the enthusiasm that the community has for talking back to its reporters.

The people formerly known as the readers have now become readers/writers. In the "good old days" of the print newspaper, we only got a few letters each day. Today, we get hundreds and sometimes thousands of comments on our news articles each day. With the click of a button, readers can easily and instantly post reactions to articles. Furthermore, the readers don't only react to our articles -- they react far more often to each others' comments. The article may start a discussion, but it does not necessarily remain the center of attention.

This interaction gives us more than additional eyeballs; it teaches us new aspects of storytelling. For instance, a news website is sometimes more about telling a story in a way to bring the community together rather than about providing "hard news."

Three recent stories published in Belgian business newspaper De Tijd provide good examples of how a newspaper can adapt to its new role as a community center.

The Story of a New American President

The election day in the U.S. was an election night for the people in Belgium. Of course, our newspaper covered the elections intensely, but we were at a loss for what to do during the night. People who were so interested in the election that they would stay up all night would surely watch for the results on CBS or CNN, so what would be the point of De Tijid scrambling to post breaking coverage on its site? Would it not be better to focus on "the day after" and deliver more value by writing detailed analysis about the results?

We thought it over and realized there was something valuable in covering the election as it happened, but it was something beyond scoops and analysis: We could gather the community and facilitate a conversation. Compare it with a soccer game: One can watch it at home, alone, or experience the magic of being all together with fellow fans in the stadium.

That night, we launched our CoverItLive live-blog application and I commented on the election night with our colleague in New York City. Several other colleagues also made guest appearances that night. Most striking of all, several thousand community members also visited our live-blog/chatroom that night to post comments -- even as they were, indeed, watching the election results on CNN and CBS.

Even though they were technically getting their news from another source, that did not matter. They wanted more than to just hear the news; they wanted to discuss what had happened, share in the joy (of many) and the disappointment (of a few), and hear what other ordinary people had to say about it. We found that as live-blog hosts we didn't have to comment all the time, as chatty community members filled the "dead air." Besides, as soon as you get hundreds or thousands of participants, moderating what others say is sometimes enough to keep you busy.

A Judge Decides

Like so many nations, Belgium has been suffering the consequences of the global financial crisis. The biggest bank of the country, Fortis, had to be urgently sold to the French bank BNP Paribas. Fortis shareholders went into shock as the value of their stocks plummeted and they immediately began to question the government's response in organizing the transaction.

Inevitably, people went to court.

On the week in question, a judge would deliver a very important ruling on the Fortis sale. The event was structured simply enough: The judge would begin by explaining his reasoning, often meandering in one direction and then another, before finally announcing his final decision. In this type of proceeding, it is impossible to know whether the judge's monologue will go on for one hour or four.

We had doubts about whether or not to live-blog the event. Why not just wait for the news of the verdict -- the only hard, fundamental fact that mattered -- instead of having live coverage of the long speech?

Once again, we reasoned that there was a community out there -- tens of thousands of people in the financial sector and, of course, many Fortis shareholders and clients. There are a lot of emotions involved in this case; it is the biggest issue in our De Tijd community. We just felt we had to be there, with our community, being their ears and eyes (other events taught us that even streaming video of an event does not change this).

So some colleagues did the live-blogging (Dutch language), while others moderated the community dialogue (community members could react in real time in the chatbox). There was a lot of moderating to do in this conversation -- more than 10,000 people attended the session! And they had hundreds or thousands of thoughts and questions to share.

At least as impressive were the reactions after the event. We got numerous responses by chat and email, thanking us by chat or email for the live coverage. It was evident this was not only about reporting the verdict. Although the news value of the judge's speech may not have been particularly high, it was evident that this was what the public needed to hear. And, even more, they needed it as an opportunity to be heard.

Who Was First?

On one recent weekend, another newspaper ran a story about a huge bridge loan authorized by the Belgian state for Fortis. The newspaper said the loan had been authorized very discreetly. Our website did not run that story, because the very discreet loan was, in fact, not very discreet at all: De Tijd had broken that same story three weeks earlier.

We decided not to run the "new" story for reasons that should be familiar by now: There was no new hard news. In fact, we considered this a non-event. However, our community was shocked. They heard about the news in the other newspaper and yet saw no mention of it on our site, which is often thought of as the leading source of information on the Fortis case.

People started posting the article in the comments section of the site, complaining that De Tijd was "giving up" the Fortis coverage. Some suggested the journalists "gave up" after pressure from high places.

Suddenly, our newspaper found out that it had limited control about what was published on the site: Even if the editorial staff did not run a story, people would do it themselves by posting it in the comments and, more so, add their own conclusions. Suddenly a non-event had become a news story after all.

The editor in chief reacted (Dutch language) immediately. He told our community that his journalists had no intention of abandoning coverage -- quite the contrary. He explained that the story about the bridge loan was actually an old story, and linked to the story we had published three weeks earlier.

The Monday after we learned that his reaction was by far the most read story of the weekend. There was a lot of "real hard news" on the site, but for our community the discussion about the Fortis coverage was far more important, even though nothing new had happened there.

Unanswered Questions

After these incidents, many colleagues now seem to accept that engaging in conversations with the community is an important part of our role as a newspaper. The community appreciates it enormously, and it is also the sensible thing to do in terms of encouraging visitors to spend more time on the website.

Of course, this current financial crisis limits the amount of time that reporters can spend fostering a sense of community as those working in the newsroom have other jobs to do. So how can we still make sure that we don't ignore community development during these troubled times? Some possibilities we are working on include:

> Considering inviting community members to be moderators or else outsource moderation duties.

> Explaining the rules and guidelines for comments clearly and in a positive way.

> Using well-known symbols to make moderation clearer: We give serious offenders a "yellow card," which means their reactions are no longer published in real time but need prior approval. In extreme cases we give a "red card," banning them. We do not use these cards for someone who only went off-topic, but for people insulting other participants, for instance, or using repeatedly unacceptable language.

> Buying or developing a system wherein community members can rate comments and filter out those with low marks.

Whatever system we go for, it remains crucial that journalists running a story know how the community responds. Reporters should realize that while not every reader of a business newspaper is a CEO or a PhD in Economics, they can still learn a lot from their community just by engaging them in online conversations.

Roland Legrand is in charge of Internet and new media at Mediafin, the publisher of leading Belgian business newspapers De Tijd and L'Echo. He studied applied economics and philosophy. After a brief teaching experience, he became a financial journalist working for the Belgian wire service Belga and subsequently for Mediafin. He works in Brussels, and lives in Antwerp with his wife Liesbeth.

Illustration of social media by Omar Lee for MediaShift.

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div class="rxbodyfield"p page="1" class="ArticleBody"When Microsoft, Mozilla, or a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=searchamp;searchTerms=Apple+Inc."Apple/a comes out with a new version of a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=searchamp;searchTerms=Microsoft+Internet+Explorer"Internet Explorer/a , a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=searchamp;searchTerms=Mozilla+Firefox"Firefox/a, or Safari, it makes news -- mainly because most of us use one or more of these three Web browsers. In fact, with the exception of a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/inform.do?command=searchamp;searchTerms=Google+Chrome"Google#39;s Chrome/a (which made a big splash, mostly because it came from Google), most of the alternative browsers out there tend to get lost in the shuffle./pp align="right"a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/idg.us.info.rss/news;pos=imu;tile=6;sz=336x280;skey=patch_management;pkey=security;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" /img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/idg.us.info.rss/news;pos=imu;tile=6;sz=336x280;skey=patch_management;pkey=security;ord=123456789?" width="336" height="280" border="0" alt="" align="right"//a/pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"And it#39;s too bad, because some of these relatively unknown browsers are good -- and could be better for some users than the ones they#39;re using now. We asked three of our writers to take some lesser-known browsers out for a spin and see how they do./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"b[ Discover the top-rated IT products as rated by the a href="http://www.infoworld.com/testcenter/?source=fssr"InfoWorld Test Center/a. ]/b/pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"They chose six candidates: Camino (for the Mac), Maxthon (for the PC), OmniWeb (for the Mac), Opera (both the Mac and the PC versions), and Shiira (for the Mac). Which is the best? It all depends on what you need from a browser./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"For example, Camino is for those who want a simple, basic browser, while Maxthon is overflowing with every power feature in the book. OmniWeb offers speed and an interesting approach to tabbing (but, at a base price of US$14.95, is the only browser in this roundup that isn#39;t free), while Opera brings with it a number of features it has pioneered over the years, along with a strong fan base. Finally, Shiira has an interface that is more Mac than Apple#39;s own Safari./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"It#39;s possible that none of these will do what you need better than the browser you#39;re already using. But as we all know, sometimes you have to step outside of the tried and true in order to find something really great./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Check these browsers out -- one of them may work for you./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"strongCamino 1.6.4br//strongCamino, an open-source browser based on Mozilla#39;s Gecko rendering engine, is clearly designed to be a simple, easy-to-use, yet fully functional browser. With a look and feel very similar to Safari and Firefox, almost anyone will find it easy to work with in seconds; I found myself completely at home with Camino from the second I launched it./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"One major difference between Camino and Firefox is that Camino was designed and programmed specifically for the Mac instead of ported over as Firefox was (so it#39;s less likely to a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasicamp;articleId=9099959"quot;feelquot; like a Windows application/a ). In addition, one gets the impression that the developers of Camino didn#39;t try to duplicate all the features of Firefox and focused on the core browsing functionality, which probably results in leaner code overall and thereby increased performance and stability./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Camino isn#39;t big on flashy features. It does have a few that, while not unique, are nice to have. For example, Camino lets you save the URLs for all pages currently opened in tabs as a set that re-opens all of them -- in the same positions. This is a pretty nifty feature if you repeatedly open the same set of pages every morning when checking sites (or if you use a number of Web-based applications every day)./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Beyond that, the features and preferences options are pretty standard browser fare, though I do have to commend Camino#39;s developers for including a Web features tab in the browser#39;s preferences that includes the options to block Flash animations and advertising as well as to prevent Web animations from repeating./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"Given that many Web browsers now try to implement too many features, some of which are better left to separate applications (RSS being a common example, which Camino eschews), I found Camino#39;s straightforward focus refreshing. The approach leads to a simple design that implements the core features in an uncluttered fashion. Combined with the Web features options that put a user in control of just how much distracting Web content he wants to see, I couldn#39;t help thinking that this would be the perfect browser for people like my father -- you know, the type of person who wants a cell phone that#39;s nothing more than a phone./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"Since Camino keeps its feature set small and targeted, I was not surprised to find it to be very stable; it renders content both well and quickly. As with Shiira, Camino handled Flash, scripting and other complex Web technologies very well. When I compared it to Safari, Firefox and Shiira on the Mac, it outperformed those other browsers in rendering some pages. Sites heavy with Flash content and animations, in particular, seemed to load, render and function faster when I used Camino./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"I should note that some a target="_blank" href="http://pimpmycamino.com/"Camino add-ons/a are available. Like the add-ons available for Firefox, these tools offers various capabilities, from backing up bookmarks to changing the look using themes or skins, though the choices for Camino are more limited./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"All in all, Camino is probably not the perfect browser for everyone. If you#39;re looking for a more full-featured browser, you may want to opt for Firefox, Safari, or Shiira. But if you want a stable, simple and no-nonsense Web browser (or one that can easily limit distracting content) Camino is a good choice./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"em-- Ryan Faas/em/pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"strongMaxthon 2.1.4br//strongIf you#39;re looking for a browser that bristles with power features, and don#39;t mind a somewhat unattractive interface and some confusing configuration, then Maxthon is the browser for you. It#39;s got just about every feature built into competing browsers, and many that you won#39;t find anywhere else -- such as a quot;file snifferquot; that makes it easy to download YouTube videos and a pop-up notepad for pasting or dragging text you want to save. Power users will love it. Those who like sleek design will turn away./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"The interface is quite cluttered, with a file menu, Address Bar, Favorites Bar and other toolbars, and stray icons near the top and bottom of the screen. Think of it as the un- a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasicamp;articleId=9114048"Chrome/a . But there#39;s a reason for the clutter: The browser has so many features, they need to fit somewhere. And you can customize the interface, if you like, to cut down on the clutter./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"Maxthon has far too many features to cover in a short review, but among my favorites is its great tab and window handling. You can, for example, create two side-by-side browser instances, each with their own tabs; you can create tab groups; you can quot;tear offquot; a tab into a separate browser instance and then recombine it; you can assign a shortcut key to any URL and visit that URL just by pressing the key -- and that#39;s just for a start./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"The browser also uses quot;mouse gestures,quot; so that you can navigate forward, backward and so on by moving your mouse in a certain way. It has a great tool for filling out Web forms, a built-in screen capture tool, and an innovative search screen that lets you do a search and then click on tabs in that screen to see the results from various search engines. And there#39;s a CPU Saver mode that minimizes Maxthon#39;s processor use, freeing up your CPU for other tasks./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"All that is to the good, but there are some problems, mostly because Maxthon uses the same Trident rendering engine used by Internet Explorer. For example, click Tools --gt; Internet Options, and you#39;ll come to a familiar tabbed Internet Options screen. In fact, it looks like the screen for changing Internet Explorer#39;s options -- because that#39;s exactly what it is./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"There#39;s far more than all this, and there are a target="_blank" href="http://addons.maxthon.com/en_US"plug-ins available as well/a . You simply won#39;t find a browser with more features./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"In fact, when you make a change to the Maxthon Internet Options screen, you#39;ll also make changes to Internet Explorer. And while this screen has an option for setting your home page, it won#39;t work for Maxthon -- you need to select Tools --gt; Maxthon Setup Center and make your changes there. I contacted Maxthon, and a rep told me that the Options screen is used to control the Trident rendering engine only, and doesn#39;t affect other Maxthon options such as setting the home page./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Still, if you#39;re a power user, you can get used to those eccentricities. If you#39;re looking for the most features in a browser, live with Maxthon a while, and you may learn to love it./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"em-- Preston Gralla/em/pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"strongOmniWeb 5.8br//strongOmniWeb has been around longer than Mac OS X, dating back to the NeXT platform of the 1990s. Throughout its history, OmniWeb has always been an excellent citizen of technologies specific to the NeXT -- and later, OS X -- platform, and the polish shows through in even minor details./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Even though OmniWeb was one of the first native browsers to grace OS X, with an interface that has remained top-notch, it has faced rivals such as Firefox and Camino that are powered by speedy Gecko-based rendering engines -- not to mention Apple#39;s own Safari browser, which has been integrated with OS X since 2003. That#39;s kept OmniWeb#39;s browser share limited to a fairly small audience. However, the advances seen in OmniWeb since its rendering engine revamp in 2004 may mean it#39;s time for surfers to give this browser another serious look./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"OmniWeb, now at Version 5.8, is easily one of the best examples of a properly implemented interface on the Mac today. The Omni Group has always taken care to make sure that its products feel like native Mac applications instead of ports from other platforms, and the attention to detail makes using OmniWeb a joy./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Some of OmniWeb#39;s best features include extensive (if not zealous) ad-blocking, auto-saved Web browsing sessions and site-specific preferences. From the unique tab drawer -- more on this later -- to support for browsing Web pages using OS X#39;s built-in Speech Recognition, OmniWeb#39;s embrace of Mac-specific technologies wrapped in a clean and uncluttered interface makes the product a delightful browser alternative./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"It renders Web pages quickly, easily on par with the fastest of the competition, right up there with Safari and Firefox. That#39;s significant because rendering speeds used to be a major source of disappointment, something that changed with Omni Group#39;s embrace of Apple#39;s own open-source a target="_blank" href="http://webkit.org/"WebKit/a frameworks. WebKit is used by Apple itself in several of its software packages -- Mail, Safari and Dashboard, to name a few -- and the Omni Group#39;s adoption of this technology allowed it to focus on designing an elegant user interface instead of worrying about updating its rendering engine with every new Web standard./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"Among the interface niceties is the aforementioned tab drawer. Instead of offering up a layout like its competitors -- with small tabs displayed horizontally near the address field -- OmniWeb shows a resizable window pane attached to the browser. The pane, which can be displayed on the right or left side of the main browser window, previews tabs as mini-Web pages rendered in real time. The real-time page rendering allows you to skip on to other sites when one is loading slowly, while still keeping an eye on the site#39;s progress./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"OmniWeb#39;s user experience is top-notch and Mac-like -- something that can#39;t be said about competitors like Firefox -- but that experience comes at a price. At a time when most Web browsers are free, a license for OmniWeb 5.8 costs $14.95, while an upgrade license from earlier versions costs $4.95./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"Even if you don#39;t want to pay for a browser, I still recommend downloading the software and taking it for a free 30-day test run. The thought of paying for a browser probably won#39;t sit well with those accustomed to free alternatives -- especially since the alternatives themselves are good -- but after using OmniWeb for a few days, you might decide it#39;s worth the price./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"em-- Mike DeAgonia/em/pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"strongOpera 9.6br//strongOpera is a Windows-based browser that has been ported to many different platforms, including most Unix variants such as Mac OS X and Linux/FreeBSD/Solaris; cell phone operating systems, including Windows Mobile, PalmOS, BlackBerry OS, and even the popular Wii gaming station. But despite its ubiquitous nature, Opera has so far only captured 2% of the browser market. That#39;s something of a surprise, because it isn#39;t as though this browser lacks ability or features./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"Version 9.6 for Macintosh is a fast, option-laden browser that represents a formidable entry in an extremely competitive product category. Opera uses its own proprietary rendering engine called Presto to display Web content; this engine is almost as capable at rendering code as the Gecko engine used by Firefox and Camino, and nearly as fast as Safari and OmniWeb#39;s WebKit engine. In fact, there were some sites that Gecko had trouble rendering accurately, but Opera displayed most sites properly./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"There are many things to like about Opera, including customizable skins, live preview of Web pages when you mouse over tabs and a welcome full-screen mode -- especially useful for recent Windows converts who are accustomed to viewing Web pages using every bit of screen real estate possible./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"One of Opera#39;s standout features is the Speed Dial startup page. Speed Dial lets you customize a page with up to nine different sites, with each site#39;s content displayed in miniaturized format. Clicking on the mini-page brings up the site in a full browser window./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"Another Opera plus is the extensive search engine support built into the browser. As well as the usual suspects like Google and Yahoo, Opera also supports Ask, Wikipedia, eBay, and Yahoo Shopping. Interestingly enough, Opera also supports Bit Torrent searching and downloads, as this browser doubles as a Bit Torrent client./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"Opera also offers support for widgets. Although similar in function to those found in Mac OS X, Opera#39;s widgets are freed from the restraints of the Dashboard, instead floating on the desktop like any application window./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"The Opera interface is a little more cluttered than some of the other browsers I#39;ve looked at, but skin support in concert with the ability to alter interface details means you can customize to your heart#39;s content. With the addition of Mouse Gestures, it#39;s entirely possible to browse pages without using any of the interface elements at all, relying instead on mouse or trackpad swipes to navigate pages./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"The bottom line is that Opera is a good example of healthy competition in the browser market, and the price of admission -- free! -- is certainly worth giving this program a once-over./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"em-- Mike DeAgonia/em/pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"strongOpera 9.6br//strongThere was a time, years ago, when Opera seemed to be giving Internet Explorer and Netscape a run for their money. Now it#39;s the great forgotten browser, rarely mentioned or used./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"And that#39;s a shame. Opera sports a clean interface with easy access to its innovative capabilities, and is a model of simplicity and elegance, with attractive icons and tabs, and plenty of features within easy reach. If you#39;re looking for a powerful alternative to your existing browser, you won#39;t go wrong with Opera./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"Much has been made of browser Address Bar tools such as Chrome#39;s Omnibox and Firefox#39;s Awesome Bar. But no one bothers to mention that Opera has already been there and done that. As with those browsers, type parts of a URL into Opera#39;s address bar, and you#39;ll get a list of likely matches. Better yet, type in search terms, and Opera will do a Google search for them./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"That#39;s just one of the innovative features you#39;ll find in Opera; there are too many to mention them all. What Opera calls quot;Speed Dialquot; is also useful. When you open a new tab, Opera opens a page with space for multiple thumbnails of Web pages. Click on any blank thumbnail and enter a URL, and from then on, when you open a new tab, it will open to a page with those thumbnails. To visit any page, click it./pp page="5" class="ArticleBody"Opera also features an excellent download manager that lets you pause and resume downloads, and then open any files you#39;ve downloaded. For each download, you#39;re also shown information such as where it was downloaded from, where you downloaded it to, file size and so on. There#39;s also a progress indicator showing you current download speed./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"Useful for anyone who fills out Web forms (which pretty much means all of us), is the Wand, which not only remembers passwords and fills them in, but also fills in other information, such as name, address, e-mail address and so on./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"Opera sports many other features as well, such as a quick way to turn off all images on a Web site with the single click of a button, and a way to view every single link on a Web page./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"Opera#39;s main drawback is that it doesn#39;t have add-ins as Firefox does, so you won#39;t be able to extend the browser#39;s features. You can download Opera widgets, but they aren#39;t really add-ins -- they#39;re instead gadgets that live on your desktop./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"Apart from the lack of add-ins, though, you#39;ll find Opera an excellent browser. If you#39;re looking for a great blend of simplicity and features, it#39;s well worth the download./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"em-- Preston Gralla/em/pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"strongShiira 2.2br//strongShiira is a relatively new entrant to the Mac Web browser market. Like Apple#39;s Safari and Google#39;s Chrome, Shiira is based on WebKit./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"One of the first unique interface elements that I noticed was Shiira#39;s PageDock. The PageDock provides the same functionality as tabbed browsing, but with complete thumbnails of every page that is opened./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"At first, I saw this as something that took up valuable screen real estate, but after a little use, I found it to be an invaluable addition to the browser experience -- making it easy to see not only what each quot;tabquot; was (beyond just a name), but also what was happening on each page, which proved particularly nice with any page that sported dynamic content (from Facebook chats to sites featuring animation elements). For those who prefer traditional tabbed browsing, the PageDock can be turned off./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"As I explored Shiira, I noticed that many of its features and interfaces took cues from Apple#39;s Mac OS X interface. There#39;s a button that displays all open pages next to each other like Apple#39;s Expos? feature, making it easy to pick one page to work with. Bookmarks, history and RSS feeds can also be browsed from floating translucent pallets reminiscent of Apple#39;s iLife and iWork applications./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"The preferences dialog borrows heavily from the look of the Mac#39;s System Preferences application. Even the bookmarking tool that Shiira refers to as the Shelf offers column and list views patterned after the Mac#39;s Finder window (as is the customizable window toolbar)./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"All of these made Shiira seem more Mac-like to me than Apple#39;s own Safari browser. What I found particularly nice was that, much like the PageDock, these features all served useful functions rather than just being eye candy./pp page="6" class="ArticleBody"I also found a couple of unusual features that seemed so intuitive that I couldn#39;t believe they weren#39;t more common in other browsers. These include menu items for automatically e-mailing the URL or entire contents of a page with a single click, and a very effective full-screen-mode option that would be perfect for presentations or watching video./pp page="7" class="ArticleBody"As far as performance, I found Shiira to be very solid. It loaded pages of all kinds, rendered Flash animation with no problems, and even beat out Safari and Firefox in terms of rendering speed on a couple of pages (albeit not by a particularly noteworthy margin). The browser was also very stable. All of this is important because, bells and whistles aside, the most important piece of a browser to me is that it can actually surf the Web painlessly and quickly./pp page="7" class="ArticleBody"Unfortunately, I did see some unfinished aspects of this open-source browser. Some of Shiira#39;s preference options seemed unfinished. For example, the RSS feed preferences pane refused to open at all (even so, the built-in RSS reader functioned fairly well -- though being used to full featured stand-alone RSS readers, I#39;m not sure it would be my first choice). In addition, the pane in the preferences dialog called Key Mappings, which should allow users to assign keyboard shortcuts to menu items, does not seem to be implemented yet (though I was able to open the pane itself)./pp page="7" class="ArticleBody"Even so, the combination of good features, Apple-inspired interface and overall performance left me convinced that, with a little more development, Shiira could easily give other Mac browsers a run for their money. Without a doubt, Shiira is definitely worth a look, but be prepared to spend a little time getting used to its interface./pp page="7" class="ArticleBody"em-- Ryan Faas/em/pp page="7" class="ArticleBody"a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerworld.com/index.jsp"emComputerworld/em/a emis an InfoWorld affiliate./em/p/divbr style=clear: both;/ a href=http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=441148379d17113dca789008e7c0a466p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=441148379d17113dca789008e7c0a466p=1//a img src=http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=441148379d17113dca789008e7c0a466 style=display: none; border=0 height=1 width=1 alt=/

As a community, we have come to count on each other to be entertained, challenged, and moved by what we watch and share on YouTube. We've been thinking a lot lately about how to make the collective YouTube experience even better, particularly on our most visited pages. Our goal is to help ensure that you're viewing content that's relevant to you, and not inadvertently coming across content that isn't. Here are a few things we came up with: br ul liiStricter standard for mature content/i - While videos featuring pornographic images or sex acts are always removed from the site when they're flagged, we're tightening the standard for what is considered "sexually suggestive." Videos with sexually suggestive (but not prohibited) content will be age-restricted, which means they'll be available only to viewers who are 18 or older. To learn more about what constitutes "sexually suggestive" content, click a href="http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=117432topic=10551"here/a./libr liiDemotion of sexually suggestive content and profanity/i - Videos that are considered sexually suggestive, or that contain profanity, will be algorithmically demoted on our 'Most Viewed,' 'Top Favorited,' and other browse pages. The classification of these types of videos is based on a number of factors, including video content and descriptions. In testing, we've found that out of the thousands of videos on these pages, only several each day are automatically demoted for being too graphic or explicit. However, those videos are often the ones which end up being repeatedly flagged by the community as being inappropriate./libr liiImproved thumbnails/i - To make sure your thumbnail represents your video, your choices will now be selected algorithmically. You'll still have three thumbnails to choose from, but they will no longer be auto-generated from the 25/50/75 points in the video index./libr liiMore accurate video information/i - Our a href="http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines"Community Guidelines/a have always prohibited folks from attempting to game view counts by entering misleading information in video descriptions, tags, titles, and other metadata. We remain serious about enforcing these rules. Remember, violations of these guidelines could result in removal of your video and repeated violations will lead to termination of your account./li /ul The preservation and improvement of the YouTube experience is a responsibility we share. Let's work together to ensure that the YouTube community continues to thrive as a positive place for all of us. brbr a href="http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines"The YouTube Team/a

Jerome Schroeder was arrested after police were unable to properly handle an anti-gay bias incident at a Madonna concert at Denver's Pepsi Center last month, he says. Schroeder claims he and his boyfriend and a female friend were escorted from their seats following verbal anti-gay harassment from another concert-goer. When Schroeder refused to leave the venue, he was arrested:

"Police arrest documents say only that Schroeder, a Denver radiologist, was taken into custody after he refused to leave and told officers to 'arrest me.'...'We were clueless as to why we were being removed from our seats,' Schroeder said. He said police told him, 'the Pepsi Center wants you to leave.' Police wouldn't say why, telling him only that he could leave or be arrested. 'Since I had done nothing, I said, 'Arrest me,'' Schroeder said. He said a heterosexual couple was seated in front of him at the concert and that the man repeatedly called him and his boyfriend a derogatory name under his breath, but loud enough to hear. The woman then complained that Schroeder had shoved her. He says the allegation is 'ludicrous.' ...'We had no interaction with the female,' Schroeder said. 'I couldn't even tell you what she looked like.' When Schroeder was handcuffed, he said an officer yelled at him and repeatedly poked him in the chest after he asked for the officer's name. Schroeder was taken to the city jail and held for six hours before he posted $100 bail."

It's not the first time Denver law enforcement has been accused of ignoring anti-gay bias crime. In March 2007, it was reported that Denver police officer Richard Boehnlein was under investigation for refusing to take action against a gay basher. Nima Daivari, a law student visiting the city from New York, claimed the officer refused to do anything after Daivari was assaulted.

Denver law enforcement officials say the case is under investigation.

Over the last few years, Digg has become Silicon Valleys version of the boy who cried wolf. Like the child who warned local villagers that a wolf was about to attack his flock of sheep, potential buyers of Digg have repeatedly leaked reports that the company was about to be sold, but a sale was never consummated. pa href=http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/-uj7I9w3Rx8QjuEsvfV6XtEhl_Y/aimg src=http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/-uj7I9w3Rx8QjuEsvfV6XtEhl_Y/i border=0 ismap=true //a/pimg src=http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/digg/container/technology/popular/~4/r2d2ZN4dia4 height=1 width=1 /br[a href=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc2008121_004686.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech title=linklink/a] [a href=http://feeds.digg.com/~r/digg/container/technology/popular/~3/r2d2ZN4dia4/Digg_Not_for_Sale_2 title=moremore/a]

During the December 1 edition of Hardball, MSNBC again hosted commentator and author Christopher Hitchens, who again attacked Sen. Hillary Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state. Hitchens said Clinton "only cares about one thing, namely herself and her own prospects." He continued: "After that, her impeached, disbarred husband and the many undeclared interests of his and hers that they nurture for the future. Barack Obama has picked someone who will always be thinking about something else as well as her job."

Salon.com editor-in-chief Joan Walsh also appeared as a panelist and repeatedly called Hitchens' assertions "ridiculous." She said of Clinton's nomination, as well as the other nominations announced the same day, "I think